About Writing Books

I’ve found that my book’s audience is folks who are just starting out and are not willing to spend hard-earned cash on an ebook that might not provide what they’re looking for. The folks who bought my book have a general idea of what’s going on online and purchased my book looking for insider tips or bits of information they haven’t thought of as yet.

So, to better get the information in front of the people who really need it, I’ve decided to take on a different distribution approach. To that end, I’ve refunded the purchase price of my Make Money Blogging book to all those who purchased it.

Instead of selling the book, I’m giving it away for free.

How to Make Money by Giving Free Books Away

Here’s where my books can serve several purposes. After reviewing the download activity on my first free book, I realize that there were several thousand copies of the book downloaded since writing it back in August of 2010.  Not a ton of downloads, but not bad considering it wasn’t marketed. There were enough downloads for me to believe it’s making its way around the Internet and hopefully helping newbie writers.

Those downloads tell me that there is an audience out there that might be receptive to targeted links from individuals who would like to get the word out about their blog, product or service. Yep, I’m talking about targeted advertising.

Thinking Out of the Box

My book is several chapters long. At the end of each chapter, I’ve created an advertisement page. On that page, I am selling ad space to anyone interested in getting a little exposure (I’m talking about links to blogs, affiliate marketing and the like).

Since I don’t do loud and obnoxious, the ads won’t be either. Basically I’m seeking people who wish to purchase ad space or links that are synergistic with the information I’m providing in my book. I’m not looking for flashy pictures or graphics that would detract from the book’s content.

Pricing for Ebook Advertising

Before I go into the pricing, I want to make this point clear. I was leaning towards giving the book away for free whether or not it is financially supported by ads. But, if someone is interested in purchasing ad space, here’s the pricing (which I think is reasonable). Ads should be 75 words or less:

• 3 Months for $9.99
• 6 Months for $18.98
• 9 Months for $26.97
• 12 Months for $33.97

(Less than $3.50 a month)

Why Quarterly Ads?

I’m trying quarterly ads (and am leaning towards semi-annual ads) because it allows me to weed out dead links and remove ads that are no longer valid. By using Broken Link Checker plugin, I’m becoming painfully aware just how quickly links become obsolete.

Quarterly (or semi-annual) ads will force me to keep the book and ads up-to-date and relevant (Once I’m finished with the Make Money Blogging book, I’m going to take on the task of updating the So You Want to be a Freelance Writer book).

In the grand scheme of things, I don’t think the advertising cost is too high. For less than four dollars a month you can get your link into a book that will be freely distributed and shared on the Internet.

Let the Experiment Begin

I’ve set up the basic groundwork to start accepting ads for the second quarter. The cut off deadline is 48 hours prior to the end of the quarter (in other words March 29th). At that time I will make the necessary changes and release the revised free ebook on April 1, 2012.

Keep in mind that with something new there will be glitches and work-arounds. Please bear with me as I navigate through these unchartered waters. I welcome you to join me in this new adventure.

If all works out well, it will be a win-win-win situation. Newbies get free information, bloggers/affiliate marketers can advertise to a targeted audience, and I…well, I can make a couple of bucks and get my book in front of the eyes that need to read it. I think it’s a win all the way around.

Wish me luck!

Why did I Change the Cover?

I realize from the popularity of the posts on this blog that people want to earn money. Some people want to learn about the ins and outs of the blogging industry first and then make money, but more folks want the cold hard cash.

My book provides the fundamentals of blogging (according to Felicia) and how to get started making money. I share some of my tips and methods for monetizing my blogs. I truly believe the information contained therein is helpful.

Did the Content Change?

No. The content is the same except for the footer that previously read No Job for Mom’s Blogging for Beginners and now reads Make Money Blogging.

What Did I Use for the New Cover?

For the old cover, I used a free online service. All you need to do is upload your 350 x 400 pixel photo and it will create a book cover image for you to copy and paste onto your book.

For the new (and more professional looking) cover I used eCover Creator 3D Software.  It’s an online software which costs $47 (one-time charge for unlimited use). eCover Creator offers a basic selection of modifiable book covers which can be used to create CD, DVD, soft or hard book covers and more.

You have the option to use their templates or upload your own image. I chose to use their template because it was quick and easy. Within a few minutes I had several book cover options to choose from.

Why I Chose eCover Creator 3D Software

I chose eCover Creator 3D because it’s inexpensive and easy to use. There were so many robust, Photoshop-compatible programs, but I don’t use PhotoShop. I’m still using an old version of Paint Shop Pro (version 8). I didn’t think it was necessary to purchase PhotoShop just to make a book cover.

The downside to using eCover is the image size. The cover image size of 298 x 354 doesn’t always make a smooth transition to the Kindle 600 x 800 pixel format, but that’s something I can work around.

Affiliate Program

Since I used it and liked it I decided to become an affiliate for eCover Creator. They offer a 50/50 split with their affiliates. Yes, the above links are affiliate links. Just a heads up, the software creator, Business Jolt, doesn’t allow you to purchase the software using your own affiliate link (bummer).

This is old news to folks who subscribe to the newsletter, but for those who don’t I’d like to share the release of my new ebook with you.

The name of the book is Make Money Blogging.   Since most of you are already blogging and have passed the beginning stage, you guys aren’t my target audience.  Well, you are, sort of.

You see, the book not only has the beginning basic stuff, but I also include blogging tips, advice and much of the blogging philosophy that I’ve developed over the years.

New Bloggers Every Day

I wrote this book because new bloggers are born every day. Going back to my August post where I quote statistics from Pingdom.com, only 13% of people online have blogs.   That’s a small percentage especially when you consider that only 1/3 of the world’s population is currently online.

Think about it.  There are new people being introduced to the Internet daily and of those new people, a small fraction of them will become bloggers.  This means there is a growing market of newbie bloggers who are thirsty for quality, easy to understand information on what blogging is and how to become a blogger.

What’s in the Book?

In the book I not only explain what blogging is and types of blogs, I also discuss the age-old question of whether or not to use a free or paid for blogging platform.  I give tips on blogging frequency, word count, SEO and blog monetization.   These are things every blogger should know.

Of course, I couldn’t write a book on blogging without providing the much-needed motivation to keep blogging.  We all have faced that blogging brick wall at one time or another and wondered, “Why am I doing this?”

Make Money Blogging gives a plain, simple, no-nonsense approach to becoming a successful blogger.

NJFM Affiliate Program

The book is priced at $9.98.  I chose an even amount because I’m offering a 50/50 commission split to NJFM affiliates.  The book is currently available for sale on e-Junkie.  You have the option of purchasing the book as a non-affiliate for the full price, or as an affiliate and earn $4.99 on your purchase.

Affiliates are paid once a month about 2 weeks after the month closes. Although you’ll shell out the full $9.98 as an affiliate, you’ll see $4.99 of it back when commissions are issued.

To become an affiliate, use the NJFM e-Junkie link.  If you already have an e-Junkie account, just look for the book in the marketplace.  If you don’t have an account, create one, become an NJFM affiliate and begin sharing the book. The 50/50 commission split is my way of thanking you for not only reading the book, but for sharing it with other newbie bloggers (and there are tons of them).

All I know is that when I first started, I wish I had such a book to save me the bumps and bruises I received while learning my way around.

Book # 1 Still Free

My first book  So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer  is still available for free, but I’m monitoring it using e-Junkie. I’ve also uploaded the “free” book to Amazon in the Kindle format but unfortunately; Amazon wouldn’t let me share it for free. So, if you want the Kindle edition of So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer, you’ll have to fork over $.99.

I’m converting the NJFM’s Blogging for Beginners book into a Kindle compatible format for upload to Amazon, and a Nook compatible format for Barnes & Noble, iPods, iPads and Apple.

BTW, If you haven’t signed up for the NJFM newsletter, you should.  I intend to utilize the newsletter a bit more than I have in the past.

Update: 11/16/2011:  I’ve changed the cover and title of the book.

When I was putting the book together I ran into a huge bout of writer’s block. I wasn’t blocked because of the subject matter. I found my writers block happened because I was undergoing an internal conflict over charging a fee for the book. Once I decided to give the book away for free my writing Mojo came back. Within 20 to 30 minutes of making the decision, the words started to flow again.

After making the decision, it took me about 3 to 4 days to write, format and compile. It’s a good thing I earn money from other sources because giving books away for free is not the way to riches.

The Book Content

I’ve been giving away free information on how to earn money online as a freelance writer for over two years. If you have enough spare time to go through the NJFM blog, you’ll find the information that I’ve included in my ebook lives somewhere on the blog. Some of the info is worded differently, while other parts are not (I took some of my older posts from 2008 and placed it into the ebook).

All I had to do was organize the content and the book was done. Of course there was a lot of editing, but that goes without saying.

The eBook Creation Software

The software I used to create the book cost me a whopping $0. I download it from OpenOffice.org, installed it on my computer and began playing around with it. Yes, it takes a little getting used to, but if you can create a blog, figure out how to use Facebook and use Microsoft Office products you can figure out OpenOffice.

Wait, let me rephrase that. Even if you don’t know how to use Facebook (as I don’t) or create a blog, you can get the hang of OpenOffice.

Creating the eBook Cover

Once the book was done, all that was left was creating an ebook cover image to place on my website. I combed the internet and found a website that allowed me to create ebook covers for free. They’re not the most attractive covers in the world, but they do the job.

The name of the website is EzineFire. Although you can create a free ebook cover, the site has its quirks. If you choose to upload your own photo, the photo dimensions should be 350 pixels wide by 400 pixels in height. Additionally, if you don’t get it right the first few times (5 times in my case), you have a limited amount of disc space for uploaded images, so get it right quick.

I didn’t know there was a space limitation so I kept uploading revised images until I received a fatal error. I tried again the next day and after two tries I got the fatal error again. Eventually, I gave up and copied the last ebook cover generated by Ezinefire and pasted it into my image editing software. I modified the image a bit and used it as my ebook cover.

Don’t Give it Away

Just because I created an ebook and gave it away for free, I’m not telling you to do the same. I had a hard time convincing myself to charge for something that I gave away for free on a daily (or not so daily) basis. Maybe one day I’ll work on something that’s not here on the NJFM blog and I’ll charge for it. Until then, keep an eye out for my next free ebook (the next time you’ll have to be a newsletter subscriber to get it).

If you are a subscriber to the NJFM newsletter, you already received the link to the ebook “So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer: A Motivational Newbie’s Guide to Online Freelance Writing.” For those who are not subscribers don’t worry; I’ll will place the link to the book on the blog in the next few days.

Holding My Breath

I wonder how folks who publish books all the time do it. I wrote the ebook, released it to the subscribers and held my breath. I checked my email every so often looking for any type of feedback, good or bad.

Right before I turned completely blue and passed out on the floor, I received an email from Angela giving the book a two thumbs up. Whew, I live to write another day.

Thanks again!